An investigation has been launched into how a Qantas aircraft was permitted to cross a major runway at Sydney Airport while another plane was in the process of landing, with the incident occurring amid concerns over staffing pressures at the airport’s air traffic control tower.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau confirmed it is examining a reported “breakdown of coordination” involving a QantasLink Bombardier DHC-8 operating from Canberra and a Qantas Boeing 737 arriving from Queenstown.
Reports indicate air traffic controllers cleared the Boeing 737, operating as flight QFA124, to cross a runway shortly after the QantasLink aircraft had landed on the same runway.
“Air traffic control. . . cleared the 737 on runway 25 to cross runway 34L while the DHC-8 was in the landing roll on runway 34L,” a statement from the ATSB said.
“ATC detected the conflict and advised both crews, with the 737 stopping after the holding point.
“The investigation is continuing.”
The incident has drawn further attention to concerns surrounding staffing levels at the Sydney Airport control tower, with Airservices Australia facing criticism following several disruptions that have contributed to ground delays on multiple occasions.
An Airservices Australia spokesperson confirmed the organisation is cooperating with the ATSB investigation but declined to provide additional comments while inquiries are ongoing.
“Safety is Airservices’ top priority,” the spokesperson said.
Qantas also confirmed that both aircraft were cleared to continue operations after receiving instructions from air traffic control.
“We will support the ATSB in the investigation,” the Qantas spokesperson told The Nightly.
Airlines for Australia CEO Stephen Beckett said flight disruptions linked to staffing challenges at Sydney’s air traffic control tower have become frequent, affecting airlines and passengers across the country.
“We are constantly seeing an inability to staff the air traffic control towers around the country and that is leading to considerable disruptions to our airlines and passengers,” Mr Beckett reportedly told the Pacific Airline Leader Summit last week.
“It’s not just the one-off.”
